USDA Forest Service
 

Gifford Pinchot National Forest
 
Gifford Pinchot
National Forest

Forest Headquarters
10600 N.E. 51st Circle
Vancouver, WA 98682
(360) 891-5000
TTY: (360) 891-5003

Cowlitz Valley
Ranger District
10024 US Hwy 12
PO Box 670
Randle, WA 98377
(360) 497-1100
TTY: (360) 497-1101

Mt. Adams
Ranger District
2455 Hwy 141
Trout Lake, WA 98650
(509) 395-3400
TTY: (360) 891-5003

Mount St. Helens
National Volcanic
Monument

Monument Headquarters
42218 N.E. Yale Bridge Rd.
Amboy, WA 98601
(360) 449-7800
TTY: (360) 891-5003

Johnston Ridge Observatory
24000 Spirit Lake Highway
P.O. Box 326
Toutle, WA 98649
(360) 274-2140

Mount St. Helens
Visitor Center
at Silver Lake
3029 Spirit Lake Highway
Castle Rock, WA 98611
(Operated by Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission)

TTY: Phone for the Deaf



Projects & Plans

Payments to Counties

Resource Advisory Committees (RACs)

Resource Advisory Committee meetings are open to the public, and time has been set aside for public comments.

More information about Payments to Counties

The U.S. Department of Agriculture chartered two Resource Advisory Committees for the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. They are the North and South Gifford Pinchot National Forest Resource Advisory Committees (RACs). Both RACs are authorized by "The Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000," which provides for federal payments to counties with federal lands.


Resource Advisory Committees will review and recommend title II projects to the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

 

Projects

Title II Projects

Title II projects are Forest enhancement activities requiring approval by the Forest Supervisor after being recommended by a 15-member Resource Advisory Committee (RAC). The South RAC has dedicated $4,368,367 to Title II projects, and the North RAC has allocated $2,239,490 for Title II projects between fiscal years 2002 and 2005.

Title II Projects

Funds Allocated: FY2004

 

Title III Projects

Title III projects are funded directly by counties. They include search and rescue on Forest land, community service work camps, fire prevention, forest-related education, community forestry, and easement purchases. The counties should be contacted directly for Title III proposals.

 

How To Apply

Project Submission Forms

These forms are provided in two different formats for your use. The MS Word format was created with Microsoft Word 2000 software. The RTF version can be read by most word processing software programs.

Title II Forms

Title III Forms

For Title III Project Submission Forms, call:

    • Cowlitz County (360) 577-3065
    • Klickitat County (509) 773-2331
    • Lewis County (360) 740-2613
    • Skamania County (509) 427-9447
RAC Memebership
Geographic Area Maps ( RACs)
RAC Charters
RAC News
RAC Contacts

Designated Federal Official: Claire Lavendel, Forest Supervisor

Forest Administrative Officer: Dave Olson 360-891-5020

Forest Public Affairs Officer: Chris Strebig 360-891-5005

North Title II Projects Coordinator: Sue Ripp 360-891-5153

South Title II Projects Coordinator: Sue Ripp 360-891-5153

Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 - Public Law 106-393

Currently, States receive 25 percent of Forest Service revenues and counties receive 50 percent of BLM revenues from the revested Oregon and California Railroad and reconveyed Coos Bay Wagon Road grant lands (O&C lands) to help fund schools and road maintenance. With the reduction in timber harvest over the last 10 years, overall payments to states and counties have dropped 36 percent. In addition, current payment amounts are highly variable since they are tied to fluctuating timber sales.


The Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-393) provides an alternative to the former 25% formula which gives counties funds based on Forest Service receipts from logging, grazing, recreation, and other activities on national public lands. In the last decade, these receipts have dwindled with changes in national forest management. The new Act will provide rural counties an increased and predictable level of funding for local schools, roads, and projects. In 2002, counties in the state of Washington will share $43.8 million, nearly double the previous year's payment.


This bill strengthens the connection of communities to the land and water that sustains them. It allows for a strong link to exist between the federal land and the communities surrounding them. Counties that elect to receive H.R. 2389's full payment amount are required to allocate 15-20 percent of their funding for investments in county projects or for forest projects that implement stewardship objectives to enhance forest ecosystems, or both. The bill establishes well-balanced resource advisory committees to recommend forest projects to the Secretary or to advise counties on county project proposals. The Act states, "The purpose of a resource advisory committee shall be to improve collaborative relationships and to provide advice and recommendations to the land management agencies consistent with the purposes of this Act."


Cowlitz, Klickitat and Skamania counties, make up the South Gifford Pinchot RAC, and Lewis County, which makes up the North RAC. County commissioners from the these counties have set aside $1,840,346 from the total for RAC projects in FY 2005 that will benefit local trails, roads, forest health, watershed, and fish and wildlife habitat on or adjacent to Gifford Pinchot National Forest lands.

More information about the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 may be found in a synopsis and on the USDA Forest Service website.

 
 

 

US Forest Service
Gifford Pinchot National Forest - Vancouver, WA
Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument - Amboy, WA
Last Modified: Thursday, 04 October 2007 at 15:38:07 EDT
USDA logo which links to the department's national site. Forest Service logo which links to the agency's national site.